Leopard gecko sick in less than 48 hours?

I've had this leopard gecko for about a month and a half. She ate solidly, her tail plumped nicely and she was very, very enthusiastic about her food. I fed her a range of diet from crickets, (didn't like the mealworms) a calciworms/phoenix worms, and then a once-a-week treat of waxworm. Fed every other day.

I got her with another female who is just fine (but a much pickier eater and much more finnicky about being picked up.)

So I fed her some calciworms 2 days ago--again, healthy eating behavior--the other female refused, but then was probably still full. It has been hot, but I've been running the air conditioning and monitoring the temps. Because it got too hot, I turned off the UTH and attached a fan to the "cooling" part of the heat regulator. (the room was running 90 degrees even with the heater off). The temps sank to about 88. I monitored them throughout the day since I have other reptiles and I work from home.

The water dried out in one day flat, though... and so when I checked her yesterday night, she was upside down. In a panic, I looked up what I could do for her and then started her in a delicup with some water, but she was so weak, I had to be careful she didn't drown.

It looks like she passed an impaction? this morning (poo in the cup) (though I keep her on eco earth), so maybe she ate something too big. (though I'm not sure since the calciworms weren't huge, though it looked like she could have swallowed one wrong, but she was fine when I put her in the tank--I checked on her later and she looked fine.)

She can't move that well, and I moved her to UTH in a quarantine tank so she's half on and half off, but she's not doing great. Barely breathing, opening and closing her mouth like she can't breathe and only moving her head. There is no sign of infection or mouth rot... so I'm really confused.

I looked up other leopard gecko diseases, but they are much slower to kill.

I'm not sure if she's going to make it at this stage because it's that bad.

I can't figure out what could make her sick that fast though. Can heat kill that quickly? What could kill so quickly?

Sorry for going through this. Hope your animal gets better.

Just guessing, heat exhaustion happens quicker for small animals. They don't have much moisture in their body in comparison to larger animals. Getting your temps cooler. Not sure what they should be so look it up.

Best wishes.

Heat can kill very quickly, however, Leo's are pretty heat resistant, it has to be pretty hot to do that to them. I suspect she may have had a sudden acute health issue pop up, like a aneurysm or something similar.

The water drying out in a day is concerning. Leo's are supposed to be kept humid, like ball pythons, so it's possible she dehydrated along with overheating.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

The water drying out in a day is concerning. Leo's are supposed to be kept humid, like ball pythons, so it's possible she dehydrated along with overheating.

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Wait, they are? Leos are naturally from arid environments, and I've kept my first leo in a tank at 30% humidity with a humid hide with no issues. If they're supposed to be kept at a higher humidity, this is the first I'm hearing of it.

She keeps turning upside down, despite being in an empty tank by herself. Is it a neurological issue? That fast though?

Really upset because she was doing so well and was very good about being handled.

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Originally Posted by skydnay

Wait, they are? Leos are naturally from arid environments, and I've kept my first leo in a tank at 30% humidity with a humid hide with no issues.

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Since yours has a humid hide then that's perfectly fine. I keep mine in a tub on newspaper similar to the ball pythons.

In the OP's case having an ambient temp of 88-90 with no water available and relatively dry air would have been a problem.

Also just re-read and saw that the OP's was on eco-earth; I'd read loose substrate was a no-no for leo's since they can eat it and get impacted.

I once rescued a bearded dragon that was totally impacted from eating only crickets* plus some of his substrate (wood shavings) in desperation.

*The large back legs of crickets are very hard to digest & can cause constipation, especially if ingested with loose substrate- that would compound the problem.

Also (this may not apply to you since you said she doesn't like mealworms?) I've heard that some mealworms have chewed the insides of the lizard that swallowed
them without adequately chewing & killing them, so when I've fed mealworms to lizards, I offered with tongs & simultaneously crunched the head as it was taken.
(please don't report me for cruelty to mealworms :rolleyes:)

BTW, I don't know if this will help your leopard gecko or not, but if she's impacted, I don't see her surviving surgery...? By all means consult a vet...but in the
meantime, what my exotic animal vet told me to do for that bearded dragon was a daily oral dose of mineral oil (by plastic dropper...don't use a glass dropper
because they might bite hard enough to break the glass). At the same time (& despite my vet's skepticism) I soaked the dragon in warmish bathwater for about 30 minutes or so per day. In a couple days, he did huge consecutive dumps for several days while in the bathwater...the hydration helped, trust me.
But the (indigestible) mineral oil made his G.I. contents slippery enough to be expelled normally without internal harm (he was SO lucky not to have perforated
his colon with those wood shavings he ingested). Good luck!

No idea if the heat or low humidity actually caused the problem with yours, but insufficient water certainly figures into constipation, & it probably cannot hurt
to try mineral oil dosing. When I got that bearded dragon, he kept straining, unable to expel any wastes...& he looked like he was a goner. He was very bloated mid-body, with skinny legs (starving) so he'd been like that for quite some time...it wasn't a sudden thing at all, & the irresponsible owner dumped him on me.
My experience is mostly snakes, but I had to try...he had nowhere to go. He made a wonderful recovery, as if it never happened. Hoping yours can be helped...:please:

I don't think it's just impaction. She keeps turning upside down which is far from normal. In her cage she normally has a calcium dish, so I know it's not something like that. It's something deeper if she's turning upside down constantly.


Eco Earth is OK for geckos. Better than sand since it breaks down in water, etc.


At this point I don't know if I'm making her suffer more by just prolonging the inevitable.

From the sounds of it, it's a neurological issue and unlikely to be your fault, or treatable.

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Originally Posted by GoldSheep

I don't think it's just impaction. She keeps turning upside down which is far from normal. In her cage she normally has a calcium dish, so I know it's not something like that. It's something deeper if she's turning upside down constantly.


Eco Earth is OK for geckos. Better than sand since it breaks down in water, etc.


At this point I don't know if I'm making her suffer more by just prolonging the inevitable.

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If she has some undigested cricket legs stuck in her gut, it would cause enough discomfort to make her twist & maybe turn upside down for relief. Just like horses,
when they colic they want to lay down & roll over (which can be fatal if their insides get twisted in the process). Try a dose of mineral oil &/or get her to vet a.s.a.p.

So I called my vets in my area, but they are all booked, even for emergencies--the only one left costs 232 dollars for the visit only. Definitely lots of problems for heat-related illnesses, probably.

The gecko is in the same shape and it looks like since she's young yet her gut is cleared, but she's still lolling around from her back to belly and over again and gaping her mouth like she can't breathe when she lolls.

I tried the mineral oil, which cleared the last of her gut, but she's still the same.

I checked the other geckos this morning just in case, and they are just fine. It's only her.

At this point I wonder if it's cruel to keep her alive like this. Still upset that this happened so quickly though.

Are you using vitamin powder on the food items? Too much/too little can result in issues...but, due to the severity of the issue I'm guessing impaction as well.

If you think it is inhumane to let the animal suffer: I would recommend putting the leopard gecko in a grocery bag (so you don't have to see the gore) and delivering one crushing blow to the skull with an iron mallet or equivalent---much faster than a slow agonizing death.

I don't think its from an impaction, especially since she is clear and still symptomatic. Eco earth is safe to leopard geckos. I don't thinks its a temp/ humidity issue either. It sounds nero to me. The only other possible thing I can think of is a sudden onset or worsening or the parasite that causes stick tail.

If you feel she is suffering too much, I would take her to a vet to be put down. Any vet can do it, even an emergency clinic. I think it would be the most humane way to end her suffering if it comes to that.

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Are you using vitamin powder on the food items? Too much/too little can result in issues...but, due to the severity of the issue I'm guessing impaction as well.

If you think it is inhumane to let the animal suffer: I would recommend putting the leopard gecko in a grocery bag (so you don't have to see the gore) and delivering one crushing blow to the skull with an iron mallet or equivalent---much faster than a slow agonizing death.

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Vitamin powder only on the crickets which is once a week. There is a calcium dish in with them. My understanding, is that it happens much more slowly with vitamin deficiencies, not less than 24 hours.

Impaction symptoms should happen much more slowly from what I understand. I checked her gut and it's empty now (I could see blue/black in her belly before but it's all gone and no hardness.) It was full when I started treatment. It's the quick onset that gets to me. She was fine and eating very well, then bam, she's suddenly lolling about and having trouble. :tears:

The vet tech I talked to thought that usually these problems happen much more slowly and it probably is something really serious. So it's probably not impaction.

Her tail is nice and plump and this happened in less than 48 hours. I check on the water supply in the mornings for all my reptiles and glance at the temps throughout the day. Stick tail is gradual and I quarantined her before placing in the cage. (Also clean once a day and change the bedding once a week.)

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Originally Posted by GoldSheep

...The vet tech I talked to thought that usually these problems happen much more slowly and it probably is something really serious. So it's probably not impaction....

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It's really hard to say then what this is...like all animals (or humans) there are many things that can go wrong & I wouldn't let her keep suffering either, though I'd
also not bring myself to use a mallet...:( (not judging, just saying not everyone can do that). I'm glad you at least tried the mineral oil & yes I agree from what you
said that it's not likely to be impaction if her gut seems empty etc. It does sound serious, not necessarily "neuro", so sorry you're having to deal with this, & even
more sorry for your gecko.

I had a young 6 month old gecko go downhill and pass in as little as 12 hours due to a liver condition once. Her liver was very enlarged but she had been acting normally up until the day she wasn't.
Symptoms very similar to yours. Rolling and gasping. The only really odd thing about her up until that point was the larger black spot on her belly where the liver was.

Hoping for the best on your little one regardless!

I'm thinking since she's a reptile maybe freezing her might be the most humane way to put her down. But I'm still hesitating and going back and forth on it. Maybe shock on my part to lose her so quickly.

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Originally Posted by GoldSheep

I'm thinking since she's a reptile maybe freezing her might be the most humane way to put her down.

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Freezing is not considered a humane method of euthanizing reptiles. They do not just "go to sleep", they feel themselves freezing.

Either take her to a vet or pith her brain using the method described above to kill her instantly and painlessly.